Seahawks can’t pull off comeback miracle against powerful 49ers

With 5:24 left in the game Thursday, down by just seven, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson had the chance to put together yet another come-from-behind victory against a top-ranked opponent. It didn’t happen. But with 1:28 left, he got another chance — and the San Francisco 49ers made it clear they would not be the next team to be upset by Seattle’s rookie quarterback.

The Niners defense overwhelmed Seattle’s offense and held the Seahawks to just two field goals Thursday, beating the Hawks 13-6 in an NFC West showdown at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Seattle fell to 4-3 on the season and 0-3 in the division, having already lost to the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams. All three of the Seahawks’ losses have been on the road against NFC West teams.

And while Wilson wasn’t able to pull off another comeback miracle, as he did against the Patriots on Sunday and the Packers four weeks ago, the Seahawks lost it long before those final two chances.

Wilson finished just 9-of-23 with 122 passing yards and one interception. He was just 3-for-10 with 19 yards in the second half — and had minus-2 second-half passing yards before Seattle’s final drive.

While he may have been off his game, Seattle’s receivers were off theirs even more so. The Seahawks dropped four passes during the Thursday Night Football game, including at least one to running back Robert Turbin that could have ended up as a touchdown.

Seattle finished with no TDs. And San Francisco’s defense, ranked first in the NFL coming into the game, allowed the Seahawks into their red zone just once. Seattle got its 6 points on two field goals by Steven Hauschka, who also missed a third attempt.

“You keep getting those field goals, it makes it very tough. We need to convert those drives into touchdowns,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said after the game. “And in this kind of setting, it would have been enough to win the football game.”

S.F. running back Frank Gore rushes against the Seahawks during the second half Thursday. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo)

Meanwhile, the 49ers put up 313 yards of total offense against Seattle’s fourth-ranked defense, including 138 passing yards and 175 yards on the ground. Niners running back Frank Gore exploited weaknesses in Seattle’s defensive line to tally 131 rushing yards on 16 carries, including a 37-yard breakaway that flipped the momentum squarely in San Francisco’s favor for all of the second half.

The Seahawks were forced to rely, per usual, on running back Marshawn Lynch, who put up 103 yards on 19 carries Thursday. He ground away at San Francisco’s defense, but Gore was able to tire out Seattle’s defense first and solidify the win for the 49ers. The Niners came into the game with the NFL’s top-ranked ground offense.

Seattle, hot off their upset of the Patriots on Sunday, hit the ground running — so to speak — Thursday at Candlestick. On their first drive, the Seahawks powered downfield both on Lynch’s legs and Wilson’s arm. Seattle could have drawn first blood when Wilson placed a perfect pass into the hands of Turbin, who was running a route 20 yards up the right sideline, but Turbin dropped it. He likely would have had a touchdown, but the Seahawks settled for a Hauschka field goal to put them on the board first.

“The drops really did make a difference in this game,” Carroll said. “When it’s that close, one play here or there makes a huge difference, and it did tonight. The game was so close it was those plays that could have made the difference.”

After strong defense held the Niners to a field goal, Seattle opened up a 6-3 lead three minutes through the second quarter. But it was an offensive drought for the Seahawks beyond that point.

The Seahawks took their lead into halftime, but the 49ers came out of the break with the more effective adjustments. San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith began dumping short passes to his his backs and receivers, and Gore maintained a strong ground attack to keep Seattle’s defense on its toes. The Niners quickly grabbed all momentum, and the rabid San Francisco fans — who opted for football over the S.F. Giants’ playoff game down the road — made sure the Seahawks knew it.

“I’m not pleased with what we did on defense,” Carroll said, “because we allowed them to run the football and stuff that shouldn’t happen. They did a great job, they schemed beautifully and Frank ran great. But we need to do better, and that’s unfortunate because that’s not how we play. … I think we’re a lot better than that.”

Seattle kept the 49ers out of the end zone until 4:29 left in the third quarter. To cap off a 86-yard drive, Smith passed short to tight end Delanie Walker, who carried the ball just inside the left pylon for a touch down. With kicker David Akers’ extra point, that 10-6 lead would end up being all San Francisco needed to win Thursday.

On Seattle’s ensuing drive, Wilson tossed a deep pass to wide receiver Braylon Edwards but was hit as he threw the football. The pass went straight into the hands of S.F. safety Dashon Goldson, who snagged the easy interception.

But the Seahawks weren’t done fighting. Just when it looked as though the Niners were about to put it away, threatening from from Seattle’s 7-yard line, Smith threw an interception of his own. Under pressure on third-and-goal, he rolled left and threw a quick pass toward the end zone — but he didn’t see Seattle cornerback Brandon Browner, who got the pick and gave the Seahawks new life.

Unfortunately for Seattle fans, the Seahawks weren’t able to get the first down. The dud of a drive included Seattle’s fourth dropped pass of the evening — a short ditch to Lynch that probably wouldn’t have gotten the first down but still highlighted some of Seattle’s existing offensive woes.

“They’re really good and we didn’t get enough balls caught to make the yards that we thought we could,” Carroll said. “You know, 9-of-23 isn’t good enough for us. We gotta do better than that.”

The 49ers got three more on a 28-yard field goal by Akers to take their final 13-6 lead with 5:24 left on the clock. But the play of the game was yet to come.

First up, however, was Seattle’s second-to-last chance to score. The Seahawks got the ball and pushed downfield, mainly on the ground. Numerous spoiled plays got the Seahawks to third-and-12 from their own 29-yard line with 2:23 left to play. Wilson took the snap and tried to pass left, but the ball was tipped by S.F. linebacker Patrick Willis and fell short of the receiver. The Niners got the ball back with just over 2 minutes to go.

Seattle needed a three-and-out. And got it.

“This is a heckuva night on defense, but I’m still frustrated we didn’t stop a couple of things,” Carroll said. “We stopped a couple things, but the game doesn’t go like that. We knew it was going to be close, because we didn’t score much, but we need to play better on (defending) the running game.”

The Seahawks got the ball back with 1:36 to go, and it was time for Wilson to attempt yet another come-from-behind victory.

The Hawks got nowhere. First Wilson passed right to wide receiver Sidney Rice for a pickup of 5. Then Wilson got sacked in the backfield by linebacker Aldon Smith. On third-and-12, offensive tackle Breno Giacomini got called for a false start, and the Seahawks got pushed back another 5.

On third-and-17, Wilson dropped back from the pocket — into the end zone, mind you — and shot a bullet down the middle to wide receiver Ben Obomanu, who was standing just short of the first-down line. But on the play, offensive tackle Paul McQuistan was flagged for an illegal chopping block inside the end zone. That resulted in a safety for San Francisco.

Interestingly, 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh decided to wait for the official review of Obomanu’s completion. The refs ruled that Obomanu did not cross the plane, resulting in a turnover in downs, so Harbaugh declined the penalty on McQuiston, foregoing the extra two points on the safety. Once his team took over, Smith took a knee twice and the clock ran out to zero.

“We found ourselves in the midst of a real slugfest here tonight,” Carroll said, “and I don’t think that’s a big surprise. It could have gone that way and it did, with two good defenses playing and two teams committed to running the football. There was plays in this game that we’ll always want to know, what would happen if we make that play, make that play?”